Tuesday 22 August 2017

Busy time ahead



 
Reminder to self -- breathe!
I started working out some timings for readings that are coming up over the next month or two and realised just how busy this Autumn is going to be – and I am greatly looking forward to it all.
Although, there may not be much time for much actual writing …

The first main event is PENfro Book Festival, from September 7th to 10th.  I’ll be presenting the Saturday afternoon session in the main hall:  ‘Lyrical Legends, skin-dancing with Susan Richardson’, which includes a reading from this fabulous poet, results of this year’s PENfro Poetry Competition, which Susan is judging, plus an open mic session.

I was on the organising committee for this lovely festival for four years, and chair for two, but now I’m looking forward to attending the event as a punter –much less stressful!  On my agenda are sessions with Iolo Williams, Ann Clwyd MP, Lynne Truss, David Saunders and my Rockhopper colleague Maggie Harris. There’s loads more on, and all info is on the website, see link below.

Just after that another Rockhopper colleague, Mel Perry, will be launching her debut poetry collection Rum Dark Nights and I’ll be there to support that great event on September 12th in Llansteffan.

I’ll be reading alongside Dave Urwin at a benefit event for refugees in Haverfordwest mid month, and again at Narberth Book Fair on September 23rd, where we’ll be sharing a table with Helen May Williams, who has recently launched her own debut poetry collection, The Princess of Vix. 

Narberth Book Fair, which features more than 40 authors, will be a great day out full of readings and workshops. There’s a link for that below too.

The Cellar Bards spoken word event in Cardigan, which I co-organise, will be back after the summer break on September 29th.  I am so looking forward to this as the fabulous poet Sophie McKeand will be our special guest.

In among that lot there will be a few writing groups to go to, and a rehearsal session for the Rockhoppers, the four-woman poetry performance group I belong to.  And I have signed up for another online course with the Poetry School. That starts in September too – at least I can be sure that will generate some new writing among all the other activities.

That’s all in September, and October already looks busy too. Pleased to have an Autumn holiday arranged!


Tuesday 8 August 2017

Legacy -- Anthony 'Trance' Jones

Anthony Jones at the first Cellar Bards

What a tragedy it was to hear of the sudden death of one of the foremost promoters of spoken word literature events in west Wales.

The funeral of Anthony ‘Trance’ Jones was held yesterday (August 7th) and was followed by an afternoon of tributes from many friends and poets in the packed Queen’s Hotel in Carmarthen – venue of the monthly Poems & Pints event that Anthony founded in 2010.

People packed into the Crematorium and the pub heard many anecdotes and poems written in his memory. Poems were sent by friends who couldn’t be there – from as far afield as Siberia, Sweden, Portugal and Ireland, as well as from Wales – and these were read out by friends.  Anthony’s own poems were read during the events by friends and by his brothers, Richard and William. Ably hosted by Anthony’s close friend and colleague, Dominic Williams, the afternoon was a fitting spoken word tribute to a wonderful man and Anthony would have been pleased and proud.

Always a supporter of The Cellar Bards spoken word event in Cardigan, Anthony’s help and advice was sought when that was launched in June 2012 and he continued to offer his support and encouragement.  The Cellar Bards will always be indebted to him for his love and support of spoken word in general and of our event in particular.

This was my tribute to him, on behalf of the Bards, at the Queen’s yesterday afternoon:



Legacy

i.m. Anthony ‘Trance’ Jones

words – off the page
your words     my words
our words

poets     poets
shoot words out there
everywhere

vibrant voices
snipers shooting
vivacious words

poets speak out
shout out words
fired like bullets         

over the land
across the seas
out there, your words

your episodes and fragments
in Tranas and Tramor
in Aberteifi and Caerfyrddin

your words       my words
our words
all the poets’ words

over all this world
cutting through

daily blather and banter
always speaking out
off the page

our responses, challenges
propositions, positions
our sounds, our clamour

our words     your words
all out there.        Now
you are more than words

you are more than
all the words
over all the world

 

There is plenty more on Anthony's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/anthony.t.jones